


Yosuke & His Six Wingmen

by Willow_Alchemist



Category: Persona 4, Persona Series
Genre: Fluff, Love Confessions, M/M, Supportive Investigation Team, the IT helps him even tho they have zero experience with relationships, yosuke doesnt know how to talk about feelings without turning them into a joke
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-09
Updated: 2019-04-28
Packaged: 2019-06-24 05:24:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,635
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15623508
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Willow_Alchemist/pseuds/Willow_Alchemist
Summary: When the Investigation Team discovers Yosuke's feelings for Yu, they make it their duty to help him confess them through various (mostly unsuccessful) ways.





	1. More Like InvestiGAYtion, Amirite?

**Author's Note:**

> ayy here i am, back at it again with my boys, get ready for some supportive investigation team trying to help yosuke confess to yu without becoming a nervous wreck

“Ugh,  _ finally! _ ” Chie groaned as the last bell rang, putting her head down on her desk with an exasperated sigh. “I thought that test was never gonna end!”

Yukiko turned around in her seat to face the brunette. “I didn’t think this one was too hard,” she remarked. “though there were a few questions I didn’t fully understand.” 

“Of course it was easy for you, you’re one of the best students in the class!” Chie huffed. “Well, besides this guy over here!” she turned and gestured towards Yu, who was at his desk beside her. “I saw you put your pencil down after like, twenty minutes! And I barely managed to finish mine in the hour and a half she gave us!”

Yu just gave her a comforting smile. “I’m sure it would help if you spent more time studying.”

_ You think I haven’t thought of that before?! _ Chie said to herself. But, though Yu’s words would sound condescending and insulting said by anyone else, there was a softness in his voice that told Chie that he sincerely wanted to help. “I’ve tried studying more, I really have, but... I usually just get distracted before I get any actual work done,” she said with an awkward laugh.

“I could tutor you, if you’d like.” Yu offered kindly.

“Oh, you don’t have to do that!” Chie said dismissively, not wanting to seem like a bother. Why was Yu so goddamn  _ nice? _  “I’m sure you’re already pretty busy, being the team’s leader and all.”

Yu shook his head. “It would be no trouble at all,” he said with a warm grin.

“Well, if you say so, then yeah, I could really use your help studying.” The brunette admitted. “Actually, could you help me today? We’ve got that English test coming up and I don’t understand anything we’ve covered in the last two weeks, haha.”

Yu just chuckled. “Alright, I’ll help you with that. Though, not today, there’s a drama club meeting that I can’t miss.”

“That’s fine, perhaps later this week?” Chie suggested. “I’m available whenever you are!” 

“Yeah, I’ll let you know when I’m free.” Yu nodded, before getting up out of his seat. “I should probably get going, though, so I’ll see you guys later-”

“Uhh, h-hey partner?”

Chie turned to look at Yosuke, who had been silent up until now, which stuck Chie as odd since he was always the one complaining the most after a particularly hard test. 

Actually, now that she looked at him closer,  _ everything _ about him seemed odd. He had an anxious, almost frightened, look on his face, his hair was unusually messy as if he’d been running his hands through it for the past hour, and his headphones, instead of laying around his neck like usual, were lying on his desk while Yosuke twirled the wire around his fingers in a nervous manner.

“Hm?” Yu turned to the brunette.

Yosuke swallowed hard, as if trying to regain composure. “Ah- sorry, I know you’ve gotta go and all,” His voice wavered slightly as he spoke. “but could you spare a moment to talk?”

“Yeah. I’ve got time.” Yu said cooly, a stark contrast to Yosuke’s entire demeanor.

A few silent seconds went by. “U-Uh, I-I mean,  _ privately? _ ” He clarified, sneaking a few quick glances at Chie and Yukiko, who were watching the pair intently.

“Oh, sure. The stairwells are usually empty after class, so we can talk there.” Yu said, motioning for Yosuke to follow him as he headed out of the classroom. Yosuke scrambled to his feet, took in a deep breath, and hurried after his partner.

As soon as he left, Chie and Yukiko exchanged confused glances. “What was  _ that  _ about?” Chie inquired, and Yukiko just shrugged.

“I’m not sure. Do you think it had something to do with the case?” Yukiko wondered.

Chie thought for a moment, but quickly shrugged off the suggestion. “No way, he’d tell all of us if he found new information about the killer, right?” she decided. “Plus, I don’t think Naoto’d be too happy to find Yosuke discussing the case without her.”

“Then what do you think it’s about? Yosuke-kun seemed really nervous.” Yukiko pointed out.

“Who knows what’s going on in Yosuke’s head?” Chie said dismissively. “Though, I do have to admit I am pretty curious…”

“Do you think we should…” Yukiko paused, jerking her head slightly towards the door. “You know… follow them?”

“You mean eavesdrop?!” Chie exclaimed loudly, though deep down she was seriously considering the idea.

Yukiko sighed, her brow furrowed. “Yeah, you’re right, we shouldn’t-”

“No, we should!” Chie interrupted in an almost desperate manner. When Yukiko gave her a confused glance, she continued. “I mean… what if it’s something serious? We should know if he’s struggling so we can help! That’s what good friends do, right?”

“Yeah! We can just make sure he’s alright, and then go before he notices.” Yukiko sounded as if she was saying it to herself more than to Chie. The two girls exchanged a nod before getting up and leaving the classroom, making their way to the west stairwell.

Deep down, Chie knew that her concern was just a coverup so that she didn’t feel bad about spying on her friend, and she was convinced Yukiko’s was the same, but she pushed aside her guilt for the time being. Of course, she still cared about Yosuke and did want to know if he was okay, but that didn’t change the fact that she was  _ dying  _ to know what kind of secrets the brunette held.

~~~

Chie’s heart pounded as poked her head around the corner. She saw that Yu’s back was to her, but Yosuke’s face was plain on display. His eyes kept shifting to the floor, as if he were avoiding Yu’s gaze. “Good, they’re still here,” she whispered to Yukiko.

Yukiko crouched behind her, peeking around the corner as well to watch the boys. “What do you think they’re talking about?” she muttered quizzically.

“Shh! I wanna hear them!” Chie shushed quietly as she saw Yosuke’s mouth moving, straining to hear what he was saying.

“I-I know you’ve got shit to do, so I’m gonna try to make this quick.” Yosuke shifted his stance, placing his weight on one foot while absentmindedly scraping the floor with this other. Yu nodded, and Yosuke continued. “I’ve been, uh, thinking… about a lot of things lately. P-Probably more than I should be, haha…” The brunette trailed off awkwardly, wringing his hands together.

“Are you alright?” Yu inquired, concern evident in his voice. “You seem tense.”

Yosuke’s eyes darted up, but almost immediately went back down as he met Yu’s gaze. “Y-Yes, I’m fine! G-Great, even! I’m just… not exactly sure how to word this.”

“You know you can tell me anything. We’re partners, aren’t we?”

Yosuke visibly swallowed. “Y-Yeah, o-of course we are! I guess I should just say it…” he suddenly looked up, facing Yu head on. “I… I like youuu...r grades!”

“My… grades?”

Yosuke laughed awkwardly, once again avoiding Yu’s eyes. “Haha, yeah! Y-You’ve got the best grades in the class, and I was wondering if you could tutor me!”

“Well, I certainly wouldn’t mind…” Yu started. “But why didn’t you ask me back in the classroom? I’d just offered to do the same for Chie.”

Chie could practically see the beads of sweat forming on Yosuke’s face. “W-Well, yeah, but I didn’t want her to make fun of me for it. You know Chie! She’ll make fun of me for breathing the wrong way, haha!”

Chie scoffed at that comment, then quickly slapped her hand over her mouth, afraid Yosuke had heard her. Luckily, he didn’t.

“That does sound like Chie,” Yu said, a hint of amusement in his tone. “I’m glad to see you taking your education seriously.”

Yosuke just smiled a smile that was way too big to be natural. “Haha, yep! That’s me, always responsible when it comes to school! You’d better watch out, or I’ll take your place as Yasogami’s top student!”

“I look forward to it, then.” Yu chuckled. “I’ve gotta go, but I’ll text you later about when we can meet up, alright?”

“Yeah, sounds good, partner!” Yosuke called after Yu as he descended down the stairwell.

A few seconds after Yu was out of sight, Yosuke let out a loud groan, throwing his head back and burying his face in his hands. “Way to go, Hanamura!” he scolded himself aloud. “You chickened out! And seriously, ‘I like your grades’? That’s the best you could come up with?! You can defeat hundreds of shadows, but you can’t tell one boy you like him? God, I’m such a fucking mess...”

Chie backed up from the corner, almost bumping into Yukiko. Her thoughts were jumbled as the tried to process what she’d just witnessed. “Holy shit…” she whispered, the realization suddenly hitting her like a punch to the gut. 

_ Yosuke had a crush on Yu. _

Though, she must have cursed a bit too loud, as she heard the sound of footsteps, and soon Yosuke turned around the corner.

“W-What?! Chie?! And Yukiko?!”

“Ah!” Yukiko jumped up, startled. “H-Heeeey, Yosuke-kun! Funny running into you here, haha…”

Yosuke narrowed his eyes. “You two were spying on us, weren’t you?” Then, his face began to flush a few shades redder. “How… How much did you hear?”

“Just enough to figure out what you were up to!” Chie jabbed an accusing finger at Yosuke. “You have a crush on Yu, and you were gonna tell him!”

For a split second, Chie could’ve sworn she saw fear flash in Yosuke’s eyes, but it disappeared as soon as it came. “W-What?! Me?! Pffft, no way!” he scoffed. “Where’d you get  _ that _ idea?!”

Chie raised an eyebrow. “Come on, no one would be  _ that _ nervous just asking for a tutor! You looked like you were gonna have an aneurysm at any second!”

“Also, we may or may not have heard you say it when you were talking to yourself…” Yukiko put in.

Yosuke let out a defeated sigh. “God damn it, this day can’t get any more humiliating… Y-You two better not tell him!”

Yukiko grinned. “Oh, don’t worry Yosuke-kun! We won’t tell Yu!” she cheered in a sickly-sweet tone.

“Yeah, because you’re gonna tell him yourself!” Chie said with a smug smirk.

Yosuke reeled back. “What? Didn’t you  _ just  _ see what I tried to do?” he pointed out, gesturing towards the stairwell with his hands. “I can barely look him in the eye without my entire brain shutting down!”

Chie and Yukiko exchanged a knowing look, then nodded to each other. “Then we’ll help you!” Yukiko chirped, turning and walking away towards the main staircase.

“Wait, what-?” Yosuke objected, but Chie was already grabbing his arm and practically dragging him as she followed Yukiko.

Ten minutes later, Yosuke found himself on a train to Okina with Chie and Yukiko, wondering how the hell he had gotten himself into this mess.


	2. The Best Medicine

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ayy i know its been a month since i posted the first chapter I'M DOING MY BEST BUT WRITING IS HARD ╥﹏╥
> 
> get ready for some pure shit just in time for WHOLESOME WEDNESDAY
> 
> this is p much just me being shamelessly in love with the IT supporting yosuke okay bc he gets treated like shit in the canon AND HE DESERVES BETTER DAMMIT ATLUS

****

Yosuke fully expected the train ride to be long and filled with a painfully awkward silence, but it turned out to be quite the contrary, as Chie and Yukiko held no hesitation in bombarding him with prying questions they expected him to have the answer to.

“So- how long have you liked him?” Chie asked, not even seconds after they’d taken their seats on the train. Before he spoke, Yosuke glanced around the train car. It was fairly empty, save for a few passengers here and there (luckily no one Yosuke recognized), and they all seemed too engrossed in whatever they were doing to take any notice of the three.

“Um, I’m not too sure…” Yosuke started, searching through his memories to try to pinpoint the moment he realized he was in love with his best friend. “I guess I’ve sort of always liked him? I mean, we’ve been through so much together…it just kind of… happened… I sort of wrote it off as just strong platonic feelings at first, but sooner or later I realized that they were a bit stronger than that...” 

Yosuke’s voice had trailed off as he realized that Chie and Yukiko were both staring at him intently, eyes wide with curiosity. He cleared his throat, awkwardly scratching at the back of his neck. “Ah, do we have to talk about this? It’s kind of embarrassing…”

Chie crossed her arms. “Yes, we do! We have to know all the details if we’re going to help you!” she declared.

“Exactly.” Yukiko agreed. “Since simply telling Yu didn’t work, maybe we can try some other way that’ll show him how you feel,” she turned her attention to Yosuke. “Do you have any ideas already of how you’d want to tell him? I’m sure we could all work something out together.” 

Yosuke thought for a moment. What would be the ideal way to confess to Yu? Well, any way that didn’t end in mortifying embarrassment was ideal to Yosuke, but he didn’t feel like that answer was sufficient enough for the girls. “Well, I was thinking maybe on Valentine’s Day I could-”

“ _ Valentine’s Day?! _ ” Chie interrupted with a shout, causing a few of the other train passengers to look in their direction curiously, but none paid them any mind for more than a few seconds. “Valentine’s day isn’t gonna be around for  _ months! _ You need to confess to him  _ soon! _ As in,  _ tomorrow! _ ”

“Wha-  _ tomorrow? _ ” Yosuke’s stomach did a flip at the thought of trying to face Yu so soon after his horrible first attempt. “Why does it have to be so soon?”

“Chie’s right, Yosuke, Valentine’s Day wouldn’t work. Yu’s going to be leaving in the spring.” Yukiko reminded him. “If he accepts your confession-”

“Which he will!” Chie put in confidently.

“Which he will…” Yukiko continued. “Wouldn't you want more than just a few weeks to be with him before he has to go back to the city?”

Yosuke’s throat tightened, a small pit forming in his stomach. As much as he hated it, Yukiko was right. Sometimes he’d forget that Yu wasn’t going to be in Inaba forever, and no matter how much Yosuke tried to ignore it, as if the problem would just go away if he didn’t think about it too much, Yu would have to leave eventually. “I guess so…” Yosuke admitted. “But why  _ tomorrow? _ Can’t I at least have more time to prepare?”

“Nope,” Yukiko said simply, shaking her head. “You need to confess to him as soon as possible before it’s too late.”

“Yeah, you know how popular Yu is at school!” Chie pointed out. “You need to mark your territory before someone else steals your man!”

Yosuke could feel his face burn at Chie’s blunt words. “M-Mark my territory? Did you have to phrase it like  _ that? _ ” Yosuke stammered. “A-And he’s not ‘my man’, don’t say shit like that!”

“He will be when we’re done!” Chie assured, and Yukiko nodded in agreement.

Yosuke could only sigh. How could they be so positive, when Yosuke was barely keeping it together at the mere thought of telling Yu how he felt? 

What Chie had said was still flashing in his mind.  _ You know how popular Yu is at school!  _ The pit in his stomach grew, threatening to swallow him whole. Yu  _ was _ popular at school. In fact, he was probably the most well-liked guy in the whole town. In the past six months, girls from every class and year had proclaimed their love for the silver-haired boy, each and every one of them being turned down. 

Yosuke suddenly felt hopeless, as if a stormcloud had drifted over his mind. If fucking  _ Risette _ , who boys around the country would kill to even  _ talk  _ to, couldn’t get Yu to return her affections, what made Yosuke think he  _ ever _ had a chance? He began to feel as if he were making a huge mistake, as if he was preparing to jump off a cliff and plummet to his death. But before he could speak up with a “Guys, I don’t think I can do this…”,  the train had already reached its destination, and Chie and Yukiko were already making their way towards Okina Station, forcing Yosuke to follow suit.

 

~~~

 

“I know the perfect place to go!” Chie announced as they left the station. She bounded ahead without another word as to  _ where _ they were going, taking the lead while Yosuke and Yukiko trailed behind, walking side-by-side.

Yosuke kept his head down, gaze fixed to the sidewalk, only looking up to make sure that he was still following Chie and hadn’t lost her in the crowd of passerbys. The sense of despair had refused to leave Yosuke’s mind, and had only worsened since getting off the train. He was unable to stop the storm of dark thoughts from shaking him to his very core.

_ You’re wasting your time, _ his mind told him.  _ He’s just going to reject you. _

_ He could have any girl he wanted, so why would he settle for you? _

Yosuke shut his eyes, trying to block out the voices in his head, but they just kept getting louder. He was drowning in a sea of self-doubt, and he’d forgotten how to swim.

_ You’re a disaster, he deserves someone better. _

_ Quit while you’re ahead. You can still save yourself.  _

_ He’s going to think you’re weird, and then he’ll never talk to you again.  _

_ He’ll hate you, and then the others will hate you too. _

_ You’ll go back to having no friends. _

_ No. _ He thought. He couldn’t let that happen. He couldn’t go back to how things were before Yu transferred. He couldn’t go back to the people around him only knowing him as the “Junes Prince” that was causing families to go out of business. He couldn’t go back to being alone. Now that he knew what close friendship felt like, the thought of having it ripped away hit him like a blow to the head, almost knocking him off his feet. 

“S-Shit!” he hissed under his breath as he stumbled, his legs suddenly feeling like they were made of jelly. He snapped open his eyes that he hadn’t realized were still closed. Yosuke staggered, expecting to hit the pavement below face-first, but was stopped by two hands gripping his arm and hoisting him back up to his feet.

Yosuke stood still for a few heartbeats, his mind fuzzy. He blinked, turning to see Yukiko, still holding a firm grasp on him.

“Are you alright?” she asked softly.

“Y-Yeah…” he breathed, his voice cracking slightly. He looked up to see Chie still strolling ahead as if she hadn’t noticed a thing. “Just a bit tired. It’s alright, I can stand,” he told her. Yukiko released her grip on him, and the two started walking again.

“You’re scared, aren’t you?” Yukiko said after a moment’s silence. “About what Yu will think?” Yosuke stared down at her, wondering how she could tell exactly what had been running through his mind. Her gaze was serious, rife with concern. Yosuke just nodded, not trusting his voice enough to speak.

“That’s okay.” Yukiko gave him a comforting smile. “It’s okay to be scared, especially about something like this.” Her voice was calm and reassuring. “Just know that you don’t have to be scared alone. Chie and I, as well as the rest of the team, we’re here for you, and we’ll support you all the way.”

Yosuke could feel the stormcloud above his head fade away at Yukiko’s kind support. “T-Thanks.” he stammered.  _I’m not alone,_ Yosuke told himself.

“And I know Chie can be a bit…” Yukiko paused, pursing her lips as she tried to think of the right word. She looked ahead at the brunette, who was still clueless to the two behind her. “...pushy, but she really does mean well. If she ever becomes too much for you, just let me know and I’ll try my best to reign her in.” 

“I’ll be sure to do that, thanks,” Yosuke said gratefully, returning her smile. Yukiko nodded without another word, leaving the brunette slightly taken aback. He’d known Yukiko for years, but he’d never seen her act this… gentle. 

When Yosuke had first met her, Yukiko had come off as very reserved. She was quiet, polite, and seemed to speak only when spoken to. But, as he got to know her in the months following the murders, Yosuke discovered the  _ real _ Yukiko, who was straightforward and blunt, with a fiery attitude and hands that weren’t afraid to smack a bitch if they ticked her off. And now, witnessing this more compassionate side of Yukiko made Yosuke feel as if he was seeing another part of her true self, the one that truly cares for and lives to protect her friends. Yosuke grinned.

“You know…” Yosuke started, wanting to lighten the mood after such a serious exchange. “I’m glad you caught me back there, I don’t wanna go around  _ ‘falling’  _ for anyone else, haha.”

Yosuke personally thought his lame joke had fallen flat, but Yukiko begged to differ. First, she stared at him for a moment with a blank expression, but soon her lips began to curl up into a wide grin, and within seconds she was clutching at her sides as she burst out into laughter.

“Pfffft… hahaha! I-I get it!” She said between laughs. “B-Because you- pfft- fell for Yu! A-And you almost fell on your face! Hahahaha!” She was so loud that several people gave her strange looks as they passed by, and even Chie turned around, rolling her eyes and placing her hands on her hips as she saw that Yukiko was having  _ another  _ one of her laughing fits.

Yosuke couldn’t help but laugh with her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i know this one's kinda short,,, i originally wanted to add in the next scene to this chapter but decided to cut it short since i was struggling so much to get it finished and i didn't want you guys to wait any longer than the month you already have (*´ω｀*)
> 
> if you enjoyed, please leave kudos or a comment, your guys' support is what motivates me to keep writing ^-^
> 
> My Twitter is @WillowAlchemist, so feel free to hit me up there and scream about souyo with me ღゝ◡╹)ノ♡


	3. Blooming Love

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ADKFL HI HELLO I KNOW IT'S BEEN LIKE 84 YEARS BUT I'M FINALLY BACK WITH AN UPDATE,,,,
> 
> I'm really sorry for how long this took me to write ╥﹏╥ I went through a super long period of writer's block where I just had no will to write anything,, but I finally managed to finish this up over spring break, and i'm actually pretty proud of it!! so please enjoy!!!

“Okay, we’re here!” Chie announced after stopping in front of one of the buildings that lined the streets of Okina. Yukiko and Yosuke caught up to her, looking to see where they’d ended up. It was a fairly small store compared to the other shops that surrounded it. There was a blue-and-white awning that hovered over a display table, which held a few pots of flowers, each one having a noticeable price sticker stuck to the front. 

_ “A flower shop?” _ Yosuke raised an eyebrow, skeptical.

Chie frowned. “What? Flowers are romantic, right?” Seeming unsure, she glanced to Yukiko, as if looking for confirmation.

The other girl nodded. “Yes, very!”

“I get that, but…” Yosuke wasn’t exactly convinced. “How exactly are flowers going to help me? I’m still gonna have to talk to Yu when I give them to him, aren’t I? And we just saw how well that went...”

“Yes, but different flowers often have different meanings associated with them,” Yukiko explained.  “and since you’re having trouble talking to Yu, Chie and I were thinking that a bouquet of flowers would say more to him than words can.”

Yosuke thought about it for a second. “I guess…” He had to admit that it did make sense.

The three of them stepped into the shop, and as soon as Yosuke passed through the doorway, the strong aroma of flowers attacked his senses. Yosuke coughed hoarsely into his arm, feeling as though someone had shoved a handful of petals down his throat.

Chie patted his back a few times and gave him an encouraging smile. “Don’t worry, the same thing happened to me the first time Yukiko took me here.” she glanced over to the raven-haired girl, who didn’t seem phased by the overwhelming scents in the slightest. “Though, I’ve never seen her react to it at all. She comes here all the time, I think she’s become immune to it.”

Once Yosuke had stopped dying, he paused to take in the shop’s surroundings. The flower displays inside were even more extensive and impressive than the small ones outside. Shelves upon shelves filled with vases of carefully arranged bouquets lined the walls. Meanwhile, some hanging plants were suspended from the ceiling with long vines dotted with flowers draping over the sides. 

“Oh, good afternoon, Miss Amagi!” Yosuke looked over to the checkout to see an older woman at the register, a cheerful smile on her face. “Are you here to pick up flowers for the inn?”

Yukiko shook her head, walking towards the register to greet the cashier she was assumably familiar with. “No, I’m just here to help a friend,” she explained.

Taking a moment to look around at the displays, Yosuke found himself in awe that such a small store could have so much variety. There were so many different colors and sizes; some bouquets were of a singular type of flower, some were different flowers with the same color, while others were a mix of colors, flower types, and sizes. Where should he start? Yosuke couldn’t help feeling overwhelmed. There were so many options, how was he supposed to pick just one?

“Come on, let’s start looking!” Chie beamed, bounding towards one of the tables to browse the flowers. She paused by a section that had several bouquets of roses in different colors, gesturing towards them. “Hey, how about some red roses? They’re practically a staple for love confessions!”

While the idea of surprising Yu with roses did appeal to Yosuke, they felt just a bit  _ too _ cliche. “Nah, too overdone. I don’t want him to think I just grabbed the first flower I could think of.”

“That’s fair,” Chie agreed before considering their next option. “Then, how about roses in a different color? Still classic, but unique at the same time! Let’s see…”

Chie took out her phone, where she’d had a sort of online flower encyclopedia pulled up, navigated to the “roses” page, and scrolled through the results. “Oh, look at this one! Apparently, lavender roses mean “love at first sight”!” She looked up at the tables and pointed towards a small bouquet of lavender roses. “And they have some here! How about it?”

Now, the whole “Love at first sight” thing surely  _ seemed  _ romantic, especially in the movies, where two lovers would lock eyes from across the hallway, or a busy street, or store, or whatever, and in that moment feel that spark and just  _ know _ that the other person is special. Now, that was all fine and dandy to Yosuke... if you didn’t consider the fact that his first actual interaction with Yu involved him  _ crashing his bike and falling into a trash can right in front of him. _ Yosuke would always regard him meeting Yu as an important turning point in his life where things finally started to get better, but  _ god _ if he didn’t cringe whenever he was reminded of it. Even if he did get the lavender roses, what would he even say, anyway?  _ “Partner, I’ve loved you ever since you pulled me out of the garbage.”  _ Yeah, there was no way  _ that  _ was gonna happen.

“Yeah, I think I’ll pass…” Yosuke dismissed, peering over Chie’s shoulder at her phone and looking at the rest of the list. White roses represent innocence, yellow ones for friendship, orange ones for enthusiasm… Yosuke read through each entry, but none of them seemed to stick out to him. 

He must have made some kind of face, because Chie seemed to have realized his dilemma. “You know what, let’s forget about roses! There’s a lot more all around us, so let’s go see what else there is!” She ushered him to a neighboring table that held a different assortment of flowers.

Yosuke’s eye was immediately caught by a bouquet of yellow flowers. They had long, thin stems, and the flower consisted of a cluster of brightly colored petals with serrated edges. 

“These ones are nice,” Yosuke commented, taking the bouquet in his hands and turning it over to get a better look. Upon closer inspection, Yosuke could see small flecks of red among the yellow colored petals. “They’re…” Yosuke looked at the price tag located on the side and read the name of the flower out loud. “‘yellow carnations’.”

“Okay, let me look them up!” Chie tapped the words into her phone and scrolled down a bit… then she frowned.

“What’s up?” Yosuke inquired, noticing her dissatisfied expression.

“It says here that yellow carnations are never supposed to be given to someone as a gift. Apparently, they’re supposed to mean…” she hesitated, as if reluctant to say it. “...disappointment.”

Yosuke heaved a sigh.  _ Of course _ they did. Disappointment. Yosuke was no stranger to that word. He’d had it flung at him a hundred times over in the past few years.

“They symbolize rejection too…” Chie noted dismally. “Looks like that’s big “no” for these ones...”

“Rejection?” Yosuke repeated aloud, then gave a low, almost defeated chuckle. “Maybe once I give Yu my flowers, he can give these to me in return.” He said, as if he were almost certain he was going to be rejected.

Chie’s frown only deepened at Yosuke’s comment. “Come on, you can’t be talking like that!” She chastised. “You need to be confident, or this is never going to work!”

“I think that’s a bit easier said than done, Chie…” 

“Well you’ve got to at least try!” The brunette faced Yosuke head on and put her hands on his shoulders. “I want you to look into my eyes and say ‘I’m going to do it and it’s gonna be great!”

“I-What?”

“Say,  _ ‘I’m gonna do it and it’s gonna be great!’ _ ”

Yosuke was a bit stunned at Chie’s sudden passion. “Uh…” His eyes darted from side to side, trying to avoid her fiery (and kinda frightening) gaze.

“Say it!” Chie demanded, shaking Yosuke by his shoulders.

“Okay, okay!” Yosuke blurted out. “I-I’m gonna do it, and it’s gonna be great?”

“Say it and  _ mean it! _ ” She bellowed, shaking him harder.

“But… I don’t mean it!” Yosuke retorted, wrenching himself out of Chie’s iron grip. “Do you want me to lie?”

Chie paused, seeing the almost pained expression in Yosuke’s eyes. Realizing she might come on a  _ little _ bit too strong, she decided to tone it down just a bit. “No, I don’t want you to lie- well, not exactly.”

Yosuke cocked an eyebrow. “What do you mean?”

“Listen, what you need to do is tell yourself it’s going to work. Multiple times. When you wake up, before you go to bed, before you eat, anytime you feel anxious about this whole confession thing, you need to take a breath and say, ‘I’m going to do it and it’s gonna be great.” Chie instructed, and Yosuke, though dubious, listened to her. “It’ll probably sound like a lie at first, but if you say it to yourself enough times, you might just start to believe it.”

“Are you sure that’ll work?” Yosuke felt that even if he said it a million times, he’d never truly believe it.

“Of course! You’ve just gotta fake it ‘till you make it!” Chie beamed. “If you keep telling yourself you’re gonna fail, then that’s exactly what you’ll do! But, if you think yourself up instead of down, that fake confidence will turn into real confidence!”

Yosuke was still skeptical, but it wouldn’t hurt him to try. It did make some sense, at least. He wasn’t sure if he could tell himself it’s going to be okay and truly mean it, but he’d at least make an effort to stop talking like he was going to get rejected. “Okay, I think I can do that…” He took in a deep breath.  _ Just gotta fake it ‘till I make it... _

~~~

Yosuke would spend the rest of the time at the flower shop repeating those words to himself. He could feel it easing his fears just a little bit, but it was hard to stop the mountain of anxiety that was constantly pulsing through his mind. But, nevertheless, Yosuke did his best to at least shove it all to the back of his mind for the time being while he continued to search for that perfect bouquet of flowers.

Even with all three of them looking, it still took a while to find something that fit exactly what Yosuke wanted to convey to Yu. He began to fear that he was being too picky and figured he should just grab something and be done with it, but Yukiko assured him that there were so many options for him to look through to find the perfect one, and that both she and Chie were willing to stay there all day if they needed to.

In the end, Yosuke did wind up finding something he liked. It was a small bouquet of dark pink daisies, symbolizing gratitude, because Yosuke truly was grateful for everything Yu had done for him. From helping him face his shadow, to being there for him in both the TV World and in real life, to just simply being his friend and caring about him, which was such a foreign experience Yosuke wasn’t exactly used to. He’d had friends back in the city, sure, but none of them he’d really connected with like the ones he had now. Yu had shown Yosuke what it was like to have true friends, ones that he actually cared about and would probably do anything for, instead of just a bunch of assholes he’d hang around just to avoid feeling lonely. Yosuke couldn’t help but feel like he could never repay Yu for that, but for now, some dark pink daisies would have to do.

The next morning came and went, and before he knew it, Yosuke was sitting in the classroom, a package of dark pink daisies carefully tucked into his backpack. Swallowing his fear, Yosuke looked to Chie and Yukiko, gave them a nervous thumbs up, and left to meet Yu at his locker, the flowers held behind his back so hard that his knuckles turned white.

Chie and Yukiko waited for him, chatting idly at their desks without admitting that they too were just as nervous for Yosuke.

“H-How do you think it’s going?” Chie asked after a few minutes went by, unable to continue ignoring the elephant in the room. Class had ended long ago, and now the two girls were the only ones left in the classroom.

“I don’t know. I hope everything’s okay.” Yukiko replied, glancing at the door for any signs of the brunette returning.

“Do you think we should check up on him?” Chie suggested nervously.

Yukiko shook her head. “No, if he sees us, it’ll definitely throw him off. I think the only thing we can do is wait.”

Chie let out an exasperated sigh and slumped down in her chair, knowing Yukiko was right. A few more minutes went by in silence with tensions so high you could cut it with a knife as they waited for Yosuke to come back.

Just as Chie was about to get up and go check on him anyway, the classroom door burst open. The two girls snapped their heads up to see Yosuke slamming the door behind him. He sucked in a few deep breaths as if he’d just run a marathon, and then slid down against the door, head in his hands.

_ Oh god, that can’t be good. _ Chie thought worriedly, getting up out of her chair and rushing to Yosuke’s side. “Yosuke, what happened?”

“Did Yu-kun….” Yukiko started, approaching carefully.

Yosuke looked up, his face flushed red. “No, he didn’t reject me… Actually,” he looked down at his shoes guiltily. “I didn’t even tell him.”

“What? Why?” Chie inquired, confused. Though nervous, Yosuke had seemed seriously determined to confess when she’d last seen him. “Did you chicken out?”

“No! Well- kinda…” Yosuke sighed. “I tried to, I really did! But as I was talking to him, he started sneezing and stuff… I asked if he was sick, and then he said it was just his pollen allergies!” Yosuke groaned, throwing his now tattered bouquet of daisies to the floor in frustration. “He’s allergic to the damn flowers!”

“Wait, really?” Chie exclaimed, shocked. “What’d you do then?”

“I didn’t wanna give him something he’s allergic to, so I just panicked, made some lame excuse, and ran off…” He sulked, tilting his head back against the door to stare at the ceiling.

“We’re really sorry, Yosuke-kun... ” Yukiko apologized. “We had no idea he was allergic to flowers.”

Chie nodded. “Yeah, we thought it’d be romantic!”

Yosuke huffed, pushing himself back onto his feet. “No, it’s not your guys’ fault. I had no idea either…”

“W-We’ll just have to try something else! One failure doesn’t mean it’s all lost!” Chie put in optimistically. “Yukiko and I’s plan may not have worked, but I’m sure someone else on the Investigation Team could help you!”

Yukiko’s face lit up with an idea. “Oh- I think Kanji-kun is free, and I’m sure he’d be more than willing to lend a hand!”

Yosuke just grimaced.

“Hm? Is something wrong, Yosuke-kun?” Yukiko asked, a concerned look on her face.

“Well, it’s not that I’m against getting help from Kanji…” Yosuke scratched the back of his head awkwardly. “But I don’t even know how to explain the situation to him… I’ve been kind of a jerk to him in the past…” he admitted, ashamed. 

“Would it be easier for you if  _ we  _ told him?” Yukiko proposed. 

Yosuke nodded. He wasn’t exactly proud of his previous actions towards Kanji, and he didn’t want to be the one to break the news that he, who had been a huge dick to Kanji because he might’ve liked dudes, was now struggling with his very gay crush on his best friend (who is very much another dude). He didn’t entirely like the idea of having Chie and Yukiko fight his battles for him, but it definitely would take some pressure off of him if a third party let Kanji know of the situation instead of Yosuke himself. “Yeah, I think that might be better. Do you guys mind?”

Chie shook her head with a smile. “Nope! Just leave it to us!” she declared before bounding out of the room.

“We’ll text you later to let you know what he says.” Yukiko informed him. She stepped towards the door, but paused before opening it and turned back to Yosuke. “And, don’t let today’s loss get you down. We’re gonna do all we can to help you confess to Yu, so try not to dwell on it too much.”

Yosuke gave her a grateful smile. “Thanks, I really appreciate it. I really can’t thank you guys enough.”

Yukiko returned his grin. “Well, I don’t know about me, but if you want to thank Chie, I think a good steak would make it even.”

Yosuke groaned. “Ugh, no way! I don’t know if my wallet can handle that!”

“I’m just kidding,” Yukiko chuckled. “You don’t have to do anything special to pay us back for helping you, it’s what friends are for.” The raven-haired girl flashed him another smile before leaving the classroom to go after Chie.

Yosuke smiled to himself, his heart filled with a warm, wholesome feeling at Yukiko’s words. As he began packing up his stuff to leave, he noticed the bouquet of dark pink daisies he’d left on the floor. They were a bit more disheveled than when he’d first gotten them, but they were still very pretty.  _ It was a shame I wasn’t able to give them to him, _ Yosuke thought.  _ What do I do with them now, though? _ He could probably go back to the flower shop and see if he could return them (flowers aren’t exactly cheap, after all) while he mulled over different ways to confess to Yu. 

He wasn’t sure exactly how he was going to do it, but whatever it was, it was definitely  _ not _ gonna involve flowers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you for reading!! now let's hope the next chapter doesn't take another seven and a half months to finish (´∀｀；)

**Author's Note:**

> this is my first time posting something that isn't a one-shot, but I'll try my best to update this as frequently as I can! ^_^
> 
> My Twitter is @WillowAlchemist, so feel free to hit me up there and scream about souyo with me ღゝ◡╹)ノ♡


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